The Geelong Field Naturalists Club (GFNC) is an Australian regional amateur scientific natural history and conservation society which was originally founded in the 1890s and re-established in 1961 in its present form. It is based in Geelong, Victoria , with the aims of preserving and protecting native flora and fauna , promoting the conservation of natural resources and the protection of endangered species and habitats, and recording information and knowledge about the flora and fauna of the Geelong region.
17-526: The logo of the club features the small ant-blue butterfly ( Acrodipsas myrmecophila , syn Pseudodipsas myrmecophila ), an endangered myrmecophilous species once found in the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve . The GFNC holds monthly face-to-face and online meetings from February to December. In these meetings, the club invites a guest speaker to present on a topic related to natural history or conservation. Field trips are held at least once
34-574: A bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of 60.93 metres (199 ft 11 in), and a wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) caught in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in), the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically extent , is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs , bats , insects , etc., and other aircraft such as ornithopters . In humans ,
51-583: A month and are regularly hosted by experts in the local area. During these excursions, club members observe and record details of flora, fauna, geology and history of various locations in the Geelong region. These excursions are occasionally attended by members of other local field naturalists' clubs, as well as conservationist community groups, including Geelong Sustainability. The club has a long history of lobbying government bodies in support of legislation to protect native species and Australian biodiversity. This
68-664: A naturalist club, also named the Geelong Field Naturalists Club, meeting in the area from 1880 till their conclusion of activities in 1932. This club was the second field naturalist club founded in Victoria. In this time, the club produced two serial publications, The Geelong Naturalist: The Journal of the Geelong Field Naturalists' Club (1891–1931) and The Wombat: Journal of the Geelong Field Naturalists' Club (1895–1902). The club
85-523: Is exemplified by the club's 2020 submission to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 Review , in which they request mechanisms are put in place to better use citizen scientific knowledge and reach out to community organisations when investigating changes to biodiverse regions. The GFNC sponsors The Margery Rix Environment Scholarship to Gordon Institute of TAFE conservation and land management students, with
102-431: Is proportional to their area, so the heavier the animal or aircraft the bigger that area must be. The area is the product of the span times the width ( mean chord ) of the wing, so either a long, narrow wing or a shorter, broader wing will support the same mass. For efficient steady flight, the ratio of span to chord, the aspect ratio , should be as high as possible (the constraints are usually structural) because this lowers
119-476: The apices with the wings set with the trailing wing edge perpendicular to the body. In basketball and gridiron football , a fingertip-to-fingertip measurement is used to determine the player's wingspan, also called armspan. This is called reach in boxing terminology. The wingspan of 16-year-old BeeJay Anya , a top basketball Junior Class of 2013 prospect who played for the NC State Wolfpack ,
136-442: The lift-induced drag associated with the inevitable wingtip vortices . Long-ranging birds, like albatrosses, and most commercial aircraft maximize aspect ratio. Alternatively, animals and aircraft which depend on maneuverability (fighters, predators and prey, as well as those who live amongst trees and bushes, insect catchers, etc.) need to be able to roll fast to turn, and the high moment of inertia of long narrow wings, as well as
153-536: The small ant-blue , is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae . It is found in the south-east of Australia . The wingspan is about 25 mm. The larvae feed on the larvae of the ant species Papyrius nitidus . The butterfly features on the logo of the Geelong Field Naturalists Club . This Theclinae -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wingspan The wingspan (or just span ) of
170-526: The Geelong Field Naturalists' Club (1964–1995), and the, now quarterly, Geelong Naturalist: monthly magazine of the Geelong Field Naturalists Club (1994–). The GFNC publishes the serial Geelong Bird Report (1991–2016) and books on the natural history of the Geelong region, including: This article about an organisation in Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Acrodipsas myrmecophila Acrodipsas myrmecophila ,
187-587: The aim of encouraging students to pursue a career in conservation and land management in the Geelong region. The club is a member of the South East Australian Naturalists Association, and has previously hosted several of the association's biannual naturalist club camps. The GFNC is also a member of the Australian Naturalists' Network. The Geelong region has a long history of conservation work, with
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#1732798534466204-455: The club's Fauna Group, which regularly undertakes animal surveys of the region. The GFNC and president at the time, Jack Wheeler, were instrumental in the early 1960s in establishing the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve . The first issue of The Geelong Naturalist was published in July 1891, and began with the following introduction: We send out this, the first issue of our quarterly journal, in
221-453: The high angular drag and quick balancing of aileron lift with wing lift at a low rotation rate, produce lower roll rates . For them, short-span, broad wings are preferred. Additionally, ground handling in aircraft is a significant problem for very high aspect ratios and flying animals may encounter similar issues. The highest aspect ratio of man-made wings are aircraft propellers, in their most extreme form as helicopter rotors . To measure
238-404: The hope that it may be the means of bringing the objects of our Association under the notice of our readers, and inducing them — especially the young — to devote some of their leisure to the study of one of the branches of Science. The pleasure derived will more than repay any trouble caused...” The GFNC has published several serial publications, including the monthly Geelong Naturalist: Journal of
255-410: The term wingspan also refers to the arm span , which is the distance between the length from the end of an individual's arm (measured at the fingertips) to the individual's fingertips on the other arm when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height. The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip, regardless of wing shape or sweep . The lift from wings
272-414: The wingspan of a bird, a live or freshly-dead specimen is placed flat on its back, the wings are grasped at the wrist joints and the distance is measured between the tips of the longest primary feathers on each wing. The wingspan of an insect refers to the wingspan of pinned specimens, and may refer to the distance between the centre of the thorax and the apex of the wing doubled or to the width between
289-568: Was also responsible for the first Nature Study Exhibition of the Gordon Technical College in 1884, awarding school students with scholarships to undertake education in horticulture. The modern Geelong Field Naturalists Club was founded in 1961 by Australian naturalist Trevor Pescott and several other Geelong locals. Prescott served as president for three years and edited the Geelong Naturalist . He still leads
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